JL & Rainbow

06-02-2005, 03:06 PM

Hey,

Ordering a JL 12W6v2 and a set of Rainbow Profi components for my Range Rover, will be pushing 700w or thereabouts to the sub and 100 to the comps - just wondering what the general opinion is with this sub - rumor has it it's the bee's knees, not a W7, but still damned good. Nakamichi amp for comps is a major yes?
And what sound card?

youve got some great name equipment there. You'll find, using equipment like that, that the way you instlal it will start to affect the sound you get. I wouldnt worry about what other people think about your sub. its such a small part of the audio experience! Besides, if you like it, isnt that good enough? every person you find tells you its a "good sub" will be chased by a guy who will tell you its "a bad sub." *shrug* I like the w6v2, anyways.

I'm curious, what is the ultimate meaning of, as well as origin of the phrase "bee's knees?"

Comment

Something that is the "bee's knees" is stylish and the height of excellence. It is sometimes explained as being from an Italian-American way of saying "business". I've also heard it argued that it is properly "Bs and Es", an abbreviation for "be-alls and end-alls".

None of these made much sense – but then, slang fashions often don't – and their only common feature was the comparison of something of excellent quality to a part of an animal with, if possible, a bit of alliteration thrown in. Another example was "cat's whiskers", which is sometimes said to have been the first of the bunch to arise, from the cat's whisker that was the adjustable wire in early radio crystal sets.

However, "cat's miaow" and "cat's pyjamas" (an exception to the anatomical rule, referring to the then new fashion of wearing pyjamas at night) are both recorded slightly earlier, in about 1921. The first appearance of "bee's knees" in print was found by Barry Popik in a flapper's dictionary in the Appleton Post-Crescent of Appleton, Missouri of April 28, 1922, glossed as meaning "peachy, very nice". Clearly, by then it must already have been well established.

It was a short-lived, frivolous slang fashion and only a very few such expressions have survived, of which "bee's knees" is perhaps the best known. A British example from the same period is "dog's bollocks". This, too, indicates something excellent, admirable or first-rate. Eric Partridge suggests it arose as a term for the printer's mark of a colon followed by a dash. This fits the pattern and period of the others, but its first sense suggests it came out of a different tradition. Certainly, it only became a general slang term much later.

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Hehe, I thank my parents for it lol. Sitting my final exams in three days, then work begins (popping over to the UK to collect the stuff). Getting a LinITX screen (originally made by C4, UK Lilliput, only more reliable) and a few more bits.
I was thinking, if I don't bother getting any alloys (16" at the mo), then I have another $1000 to spend on system...reckon I should ;~) ?

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depends on the subwoofer. naturally extra cone area will give you an advantage, but efficieny comes into play too. for example, the old xbl2 technology (XXX) was FAR more efficient with the larger cone drivers. Thus, the 10 wasnt loud without a ridiculous amount of power to it. VERY ridiculous. the 15 was 5 dB more efficient than the 12! more than cone area made up for that huge difference!

but more importantly, we have to consider what frequencies you want to listen to. that 15 may be wya more efficient, but if you want 100 Hz real loud for bass guitar, that 15XXX probbaly isnt the way to go, as it will not really be designed to play that loud. not really....

finally, the last wrench to throw in the works will be that the human ear hears different frequencies at a different volume, compared to a sound meter. so you might be able to set off car alarms at 30 Hz, but take it to competition and play those same tones and you wont break 130 dB . meanwhile you wonder where that same incredible bass response is at 70 Hz, and post numbers 10 dB up!

In the end, I would base your decision on the music you listen to versus how loud you want to be versus your audio goals. the three will come together to zero in on the right subwoofer for the right job!

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for your "alot" music, I'd focus on your 6.5's up front, getting 70 Hz and up all perfect and how you like.

for your rap and dance, id stay sealed. I'd use powerhandling and excursion to get the volume you want rather than box alignments. 12's or 15's, if you are sticking with RE. any RE subwoofer 12 or 15 I think will get you where you want. your subwoofer will do the least duty of all yoru speakers, though, for pearl jam, tool, etc.

with 1200 rms I think you should be good for the gamut of subwoofers, as well. SE leaves a question in my mind, as far as too much power. I'm not sure if they can take the power for daily driving. Knowing RE though, they can, easily. I'd still confirm. I know the others definitely can.

if it were my personal choice, matching the stuff I have now, I would probably be going for an SE 15 sealed. however, if you dont expect your stage speakers to get very very low, the 12 might be in order. You'll have ot judge for yourself, though.